Political news

• Spain Urges Catalonia Secessionists To Obey Madrid

  22-10-2017 21:07
  
  The Spanish government on Sunday urged Catalans to accept direct control from Madrid and ignore instructions from the restive region’s secessionist leadership once it has been removed from power.
  Sunday’s message came a day after Madrid resolved to take the unprecedented constitutional step of firing the Catalonia government, a last resort to thwart its independence campaign and calm fears of unrest and economic turmoil in the heart of the euro zone.
  Catalan President Carles Puigdemo
  
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• As #MeToo takes off, don’t let the right define misogyny | Zoe Williams

  22-10-2017 21:04
  After Weinstein, calling out sexism has gone mainstream. But as the Clive Lewis affair shows, this throws up new ethical dilemmas for feminists on the leftThe unmasking of Harvey Weinstein was like the breaching of a dam, against which decades of abuse, outrage, injustice, rumour, shameful complicity of employees, and unwarranted shame from victims had built. The awesome power of its bursting has already completely changed the territory, obliterating not just Weinstein’s nefarious power bu
  
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• The Guardian view on parliament and Brexit: Mrs May’s legislative fatberg | Editorial

  22-10-2017 19:57
  The EU withdrawal bill is stuck because Britain’s minority government can’t make up its mind. Labour’s ideas offer a sensible way forwardWhat is the toughest challenge facing Theresa May’s government in implementing Brexit? Many people’s answer, especially after the delays and missed deadlines acknowledged in the recent Brussels summit, is striking a Brexit deal with the European Union. In fact the underlying problem is right here in the UK itself and it has nothing
  
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• Refuse Murdoch's Sky bid after $32m O'Reilly 'cover up', says Tom Watson

  22-10-2017 19:54
  Shadow culture secretary says revelations about Fox News presenter make Murdoch-owned 21st Century Fox an unsuitable owner for SkyTom Watson is to write to the competition watchdog urging it to refuse the Murdoch family’s takeover of Sky after it emerged that Fox News gave presenter Bill O’Reilly a new contract after paying $32m (£24m) to settle a sexual harassment suit against him.Labour’s deputy leader and shadow culture secretary said the revelations showed Fox “
  
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• Only option is to kill British Isis fighters in Syria, says minister

  22-10-2017 19:34
  Rory Stewart says Islamic State members pose a serious danger and ‘the only way of dealing with them will be to kill them’The only way of dealing with most of the British Islamic State fighters in Syria is to kill them, a British government minister has said.Rory Stewart, an international development minister, said converts to the terror group believed in an “extremely hateful doctrine” and fighters could expect to be killed given the threat they posed to British security
  
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• Labour threatens to back Tory rebels on Brexit bill

  22-10-2017 19:24
  Opposition could support changes to legislation sought by backbench Conservatives
  
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• The gender pension gap is widening, report finds

  22-10-2017 17:47
  Adviser finds fewer women than men can afford to save into a personal pension
  
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• UK urged to renew carbon tax pledge

  22-10-2017 17:24
  Energy groups warn of coal-fired power revival if carbon pricing abandoned
  
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• May should heed the critics of universal credit

  22-10-2017 16:56
  The reform has laudable goals but its rollout has caused hardship
  
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• Fracking protesters vow to 'put their lives on line' after scaling rig

  22-10-2017 16:39
  Invasion of site in North Yorkshire comes as campaigners say they have seen letter stating exploration is due to startProtesters in a tiny North Yorkshire village have vowed to put their lives on the line to prevent the first fracking operation in six years from taking place this week.
  Two campaigners had to be rescued from an 18-metre (60ft) rig on Sunday after scaling the structure and waving flares – leading police to warn them of “the serious risk created by open flames and spark
  
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• What's In The JFK Assassination Files? Here's What You Might Find Out

  22-10-2017 16:20
  
  Donald Trump said on Saturday that, subject to receipt of further information, he planned to allow the opening of long-secret files on the November 1963 assassination of President John F Kennedy due for release next week.Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2017
  Around 3,000 previously unreleased documents, and more than 30,000 that have been r
  
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• Housing crisis: we will borrow to invest in new homes, says Sajid Javid

  22-10-2017 15:42
  Communities secretary calls for ‘big increase in all types of home’ including social housing and shared equity homesThe government will partially reverse its austerity doctrine by borrowing to invest heavily in new homes and associated infrastructure to tackle the housing crisis, Sajid Javid has said.The communities secretary revealed there could be an announcement about the move in next month’s budget. Continue reading...
  
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• Sunday Show Round Up: Budget Hints, Brexit Baby Steps And Building Houses

  22-10-2017 13:56
  
  With Brexit talks taking some small steps forward this week, listen carefully and you could hear some tiny tectonic shifts in attitudes on where Britain is headed.
  Absent was the big talk and bravado previously touted by many Eurosceptics around the possibility of the UK leaving the EU with no trade deal.  It was replaced with a general acceptance that this would generally be a Bad Idea - although some politicians went further than others.
  Meanwhile, Savid Javid admitted the government is
  
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• Britain not bluffing on no-deal Brexit, says Liam Fox

  22-10-2017 13:43
  International trade secretary says he is not scared by the idea of no deal, but Labour says it would be a ‘serious threat’Emmanuel Macron is completely wrong to believe the UK government is bluffing over its talk of a no-deal Brexit, Liam Fox has said, as he insisted he would not publish studies detailing the potential impact of such an outcome on the economy.Fox, the international trade secretary, said that while he would prefer Britain to reach a trade arrangement with the EU, he w
  
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• Is the growth in living standards worse now than in the Great Depression?

  22-10-2017 13:10
  New data suggests life is getting tougher now for working-age adults than in the lost decade of the 1930sThe 1930s are the benchmark when it comes to lost decades. There are recessions and deep recessions, but then there is the Great Depression. In terms of sustained misery, nothing remotely comes close to the 10-year period that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929.Yet in one respect – growth in living standards – the performance of the UK since the financial crisis began in 2007
  
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• UK emigrants permitted to stay in Spain in event of no-deal Brexit

  22-10-2017 12:31
  Foreign minister Alfonso Dastis says he will ensure lives of Britons in Spain are not disrupted if UK crashes out of EUBritish people living in Spain will be allowed to stay there even if the UK leaves the European Union without striking a withdrawal deal, the Spanish foreign minister has said.
  Alfonso Dastis said his government would ensure that the lives of Britons in Spain were not disrupted in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Continue reading...
  
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• Robert Mugabe's Appointment As Goodwill Ambassador Being 'Rethought' By WHO Chief

  22-10-2017 12:25
  
  The head of the United Nations’ World Health Organisation has said he is “rethinking” the appointment of Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador.
  The much-criticised Zimbabwean president, who is accused of human rights abuses and ruining his country’s economy in his 37 years in power, was announced as the WHO’s ambassador for non-communicable diseases in Africa on Saturday.
  The move prompted a huge backlash, including from Downing Street, which described the decision
  
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• Sajid Javid Says 300,000 New Homes Need To Be Built Every Year To Help Solve Housing Crisis

  22-10-2017 12:00
  
  Up to 300,000 new homes must be built every year to help solve the housing crisis, according to Sajid Javid.
  The communities secretary admitted the government has not done enough and said it was now considering “borrowing more” to invest in building and infrastructure - a move not dissimilar to measures set out in Labour’s general election manifesto.
  He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “We are looking at new investment and I am sure at the budget we will be coverin
  
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• Emily Thornberry Says UK Is Heading For No Brexit Deal Because Theresa May Is Too Weak

  22-10-2017 11:31
  
  "I think we are heading for no deal" says @EmilyThornberry #marr pic.twitter.com/GAT13laikZ— The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) October 22, 2017
  Emily Thornberry says the UK is ‘heading for no deal’ in Brexit negotiations because Theresa May is too weak to lead her own party.
  The shadow foreign secretary said the prime minister “doesn’t have the strength or the authority to be ale to control her backbenchers, let alone her cabinet” and that it was a contributin
  
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• UK minister makes case for housebuilding programme

  22-10-2017 10:34
  Sajid Javid says government should borrow to invest in thousands of homes
  
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• UK government eyes ‘gazumping’ crackdown to speed up house-buying

  22-10-2017 10:34
  Javid launches consultation to make property purchases and sales ‘cheaper and faster’
  
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• Government examines gazumping laws

  22-10-2017 10:34
  Sajid Javid announces plans to make house buying ‘cheaper, faster and less stressful’
  
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• Sir Keir Starmer Warns Labour Will Join Forces With Tory Rebels On Brexit If Theresa May Doesn't Agree To Demands

  22-10-2017 10:02
  
  Labour could join forces with Tory rebels to try to force Theresa May to give MPs a veto on the final Brexit deal, Sir Keir Starmer has said.
  The shadow Brexit secretary demanded six changes to the “paused” repeal bill, formally known as the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which is supposed to transfer EU legislation into British law.
  These include Parliament being given final approval of the exit agreement, the Press Association reported.Sir Keir said the Government has unexpected
  
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• Policing Upskirting: It's Serious, Not Funny

  22-10-2017 07:35
  Ever wondered why more women don't report upskirting to the police? Here's one possible reason - some police simply do not take this form of harassment seriously. Indeed, some seem to think its funny.
  A couple of days ago, UK Cop Humour re-posted a piece from the Bexley Gazette containing images of upskirting. The photo is of two women in the process of being arrested by two police officers - taken presumably by a member of the public - and shows them in a humiliating and degrading position. Hel
  
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• UK infrastructure bank would face hurdles, say experts

  22-10-2017 06:15
  Britain is weighing a replacement body for the European Investment Bank after Brexit
  
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• Experts say UK infrastructure bank would face big hurdles

  22-10-2017 06:15
  Britain is mulling a replacement body for the European Investment Bank after Brexit
  
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• Voters critical of Brexit process but spurn fresh referendum

  22-10-2017 01:12
  More would prefer no deal to staying in EU – or remaining until negotiations succeed, says Opinium online poll for the ObserverVoters disapprove of Theresa May’s handling of Brexit but the country remains deeply divided over the decision to leave, according to a new poll for the Observer.The Brexit process is proving more complicated than some voters thought and more are now pessimistic about the process than optimistic. However, few back the idea of holding a second referendum that
  
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• Cold Christmas coming for May as Brexit and budget crises loom

  22-10-2017 01:11
  The prime ministeris entering a defining period in which she will have to defy enemies at home and abroadIn the last few weeks at prime minister’s questions a group of female Tory MPs have stood in front of the entrance to the Commons chamber, within the eyeline of Theresa May and opposite the press gallery, loyally nodding at almost every word she has uttered. This position, at what is known as the Bar of the chamber, is much sought after by MPs on set-piece occasions, as it is also in th
  
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• As Tories fight, Theresa May adopts a new negotiating style – cartoon

  22-10-2017 01:05
  Chris Riddell on the party of stable government Continue reading...
  
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• Brexit opinions stick: Opinium poll shows little shift

  22-10-2017 01:04
  Voters are holding firm to old views – but are more pessimistic about the outcome of talks with the EUBrexit is going badly but few are changing sides. Negotiating Brexit while keeping everybody happy was always going to be an impossible task but the public is giving Theresa May little credit for her handling of it so far.Nearly twice as many disapprove of the prime minister’s handling of the issue as approve (49% against 27%), a slight decline from her position last month, when the
  
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• Keir Starmer: Tory rebels and Labour will unite over Brexit deal veto

  22-10-2017 00:32
  Shadow Brexit secretary tables six demands to end parliamentary paralysis of EU withdrawal billLabour will join forces with Tory rebels in an attempt to force Theresa May into giving MPs a veto on the final Brexit deal, Keir Starmer has said.The shadow Brexit secretary demanded six changes to the “paused” repeal bill, formally known as the European Union (withdrawal) bill, including parliament being given final approval of the exit agreement. Continue reading...
  
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